TGS - Chapter 27
Chapter 27: Are You Watching?
Rhea was a little confused, not knowing why the other person would ask such a thing.
The Goddess Lotus had only ever descended into her dreams once, and that was more than four years ago. Even just that one time was enough to make any of the goddess's followers endlessly envious.
...The premise of "recently" made it sound as if someone could meet with the goddess regularly. It felt a bit like showing off.
Rhea's thoughts were practically written on her face.
Alyuin withdrew her gaze. "It seems not."
Mustering courage from somewhere, Rhea said cautiously, "Why do you ask? Is it because the divine messenger has returned?"
The Princess lowered her eyes, her expression unreadable.
Rhea took her silence as confirmation and tried to console her, "The divine messenger came from the Kingdom of the Gods and will return there. It is inevitable. You need not be sad about it..."
"I am not sad," Alyuin said flatly. "She and I are only temporarily parted. I just asked you on a whim. Don't overthink it."
The familiar small courtyard was just ahead. The Princess's fingertips touched the door knocker as she turned back. "The festival is approaching. There must be much to do in the temple, so I won't keep you any longer."
The young priestess looked as if she wanted to say more, but in the end, she closed her mouth, bowed, and hurried away.
Alyuin closed the courtyard gate behind her. Her gaze swept over the familiar yard. Leaning against the gate, she let out a soft, low sigh.
Lotus, Lotus.
Since her exile, Alyuin had never been separated from the goddess for so long. Every night, she no longer faced a fixed pile of books upon falling asleep; her dreams had reverted to being disordered and unconscious. She would wake up in a daze each morning, her heart feeling empty and unanchored.
Their years together had given the Princess the illusion that she had established a firm and unbreakable bond with the river goddess. They had seemed so close, but the reality was that if Lotus unilaterally stopped responding, there was nothing she could do.
This was the distance between a mortal and a god—an insurmountable chasm.
After putting away her luggage, Alyuin went to the ritual chamber at once.
The evening light slanted in, spilling from the side window onto the statue's white shoulders, as if plating it with a golden sheen.
There was no one else in the ritual chamber. Alyuin first knelt properly on one knee and recited two hymns commonly read by believers.
The beautiful, melodious words lingered on her lips, but they made her think, for some reason, that if she were reciting them before Lotus herself, she would probably be met with a helpless yet indulgent smile.
But the statue before her gave no reaction. She wondered if the goddess, having returned to the Kingdom of the Gods, had heard her at all.
Alyuin stared at the statue for a long moment, then suddenly smiled faintly, stepped forward, and wrapped her arms around its waist.
Although the Princess was only slightly shorter than the goddess's true form, the statue before her stood on a pedestal, making it seem exceptionally tall.
She could only just manage to embrace its waist, her forehead resting against the carved folds of its robes below the chest. It was like a child acting spoiled before an elder, with a completely natural coyness.
"You lied to me." The young princess's smile was sweet and intimate. "You're not actually watching me at all, are you?"
The statue remained silent.
Alyuin kept her smile, unconcerned about the lack of response. She walked around the statue twice, trying to touch its stone hands and feel the carved texture of its silver hair. Finally, she simply stood on the pedestal, making it look as if she were being held in the goddess's embrace.
For an ordinary person, these actions would be considered a great disrespect to a god. But Alyuin didn't feel she was being offensive in the slightest. She had long been able to rest her head on the goddess's lap and listen to her speak; what was standing on a statue's pedestal in comparison?
She played around until the sun sank below the horizon. Only then did Alyuin stand properly before the statue again, saying obediently, "Whether you're watching me or not, I'll come see you again tomorrow. I can't help it; I have to look at this statue to think of you."
Relying on the fact that the statue, being an "object," couldn't refute her, the young princess thoughtfully brushed the dust off the pedestal with her hand and walked out the door, humming a song in praise of the river goddess.
From beginning to end, the corners of her mouth were turned up, the curve changing with her tone, as if she were in a good mood.
Only her pair of golden eyes were indifferent and cold, no longer brilliant, as if the departure of the goddess's incarnation had taken the light from them as well.
Lotus pressed her temples, feeling helpless.
In fact, she was indeed watching the scene in the ritual chamber and very much wanted to make the statue show some sign of life, at least to reassure the young princess.
Unfortunately, from the moment she stepped into the divine temple, Lotus understood that gods could not interfere in the mortal world at will. Their power was too great; if they could meddle in human affairs as they pleased, Solancia would have long since fallen into chaos.
Even the simplest act of delivering a divine oracle was subject to all sorts of strict limitations. It was clear that the current situation did not meet the criteria.
In the center of the temple's rear hall, a pool of clear water was encircled by white marble. It was not connected to any other body of water, yet the water within flowed slowly, clearly a pool of living water.
Lotus was positioned above the pool, her eyes lowered to watch the young princess's upright back on the water's surface.
Every god must have their own way of observing the mortal world. The Moon Goddess Anmila had once used her own method to watch the festival, which was how she had discovered the spirit-form of Lotus.
And Lotus's method was this pool of water before her, which displayed scenes from the mortal world like a viewing screen.
She raised her head and looked up. Unlike the pure white exterior, the dome here was pure black. On it, the conceptual lines of the Yilu River, glowing with a faint white light, meandered endlessly. Countless tiny points of light were scattered around it, symbolizing the faith the river goddess possessed.
At short intervals, one or two exceptionally bright and eye-catching stars would appear at the edge of the lines. These were the lights of particularly precious and devout faith among the many believers.
Two were very close together; they were the priestess and Rhea.
And a bit farther away was one with a particularly beautiful and magnificent halo, which belonged to Alyuin.
Lotus raised her hand and tapped the starlight from a distance. The corners of her lips curled up unconsciously.
How long had they been apart? She was already starting to miss the young princess who was so strong and proud before others, yet so obedient and sensible only with her.
If possible, I should go back soon.
Several days later, the festival of the Goddess of the Yilu River began.
Kadera City was only a secondary city, so the scale of its festival was not as grand as the Moon Goddess festival in Digebia. However, every detail was perfect. The priestess had personally inspected the preparations for each stage; if not for a lack of time and energy, she would have done everything herself.
The festival began at dawn. The tall, great statue, with a garland of Snowtu leaves made by the priestess herself around its neck, was carried out of the ritual chamber and carefully placed on a medium-sized vessel with a carved prow. It then paraded through Kadera along the White Yilu River.
The weather in the northwestern border was still cold, so only tender green leaves were available as material. In the warmer southern cities, the priests offered garlands made of Snowtu flower buds.
Unexpectedly, the one presiding over the festival was not the experienced priestess, but Rhea.
When she first heard the news, Alyuin almost thought she had misheard.
"Aren't you still a minor?"
Rhea: "My birthday was last month. I had my coming-of-age ceremony just three days before you returned, so... so Mother asked me to preside."
As she said this, she probably knew her appearance wasn't very convincing. Her face was slightly red with embarrassment, but her eyes were firm.
The young priestess, now a reliable adult, was short and had a youthful face. Four years ago, she had looked about the same age as the Princess; now, she looked even younger. As long as she didn't say, no one would ever be able to guess her true age.
These external factors did not prevent her from presiding over a perfect festival.
Wearing a solemn and intricate golden headdress, Rhea's expression was dignified and grave, her voice clear and resonant:
Goddess of the Yilu River, from the snowy mountains Before the gods chose Solancia You had already left your mark here Granting all living things the flow of life Giving them blood and sap Your grace flows like a flood upon the earth As long as bloodlines endure, so too will faith
As the priestess recited the ritual words in a chanting tone, Alyuin held a waterproof paper lantern, placed it in the Yilu River, and let it drift slowly behind the divine vessel.
Unlike her role as a mere spectator at the Moon Goddess festival, as a favored believer of the Goddess Lotus, the Princess could fully participate in this festival.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the statue, then raised her gaze to the enormous cloud formation in the distant eastern sky—the direction of the Kingdom of the Gods.
Is Lotus watching?
Of course.
In the clear, slow-flowing pool, the image of the Kadera temple was magnified to its fullest, so much so that the festival scenes from other cities were squeezed pitifully to the edges of the pool, including the grandest one in the royal city of Akhet, as well as the main city of the river goddess's faith.
Lotus admired her child's composed and beautiful posture while sitting suspended in silence. She was still waiting—waiting for the opportunity the Moon Goddess had spoken of, the one that would activate her godhead and solidify her divine position.
When the young priestess in the image finished the last line of the ritual text, and when Alyuin, along with the other nobles of the city, bowed and repeated the oath of loyalty they had once sworn, it was as if some hidden substance was gathered and condensed, transforming into a force that replenished the goddess's very essence.
Within her chest, something began to quietly spin.
An irresistible drowsiness assaulted Lotus's consciousness. She took one last look at Alyuin's image, then closed her frost-blue eyes.
In the silent great hall, the river goddess quietly sank to the bottom of the pool, lying beneath the ripples in a relaxed posture, like a jade statue sealed away.
She would slumber here for several years, until her divine position was completely stabilized.
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